Improvement in fagots for wrought-metal cannons, hydraulic pumps



UNTTEE STATES FFICE.

PATENT IMPROVEMENT IN FAGOTS FOR WROUGHT-METAL CANNONS, HYDRAULIC PUMPS,do.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 37.. 10S. datedDecember 9,1862.

To all whom, it may concern.-

Be it known that I, SAMUEL J. REEVES, of the city and county ofPhiladelphia, and State of Pennsylvania, have invented a certain new anduseful manner of constructing piles or fag- Ots of wrought-iron for thepurpose of rolling or hammering them into masses, which, when nished,shall have the fibers of the iron surrounding the axis of the piece, asin guns and cylinders for hydraulic presses, in which form .the metal issubjected to a great tangential strain; and I do hereby declare that thefollowing is a full, clear, and exact description of the same, referencebeing had to the accompanying drawings, making a part of thisspecification, in which- Figure l represents a transverse, and Fig. 2 alongitudinal, section through the mandrel or center piece around whichthe plates are wound. Fi g3 represents a transverse section through amandrel or center piece made of two paits. Fig. L represents a mode ofuniting p-lates so as to break joint when single plates cannot beprocured of the full width of the length of the pile. Fig. 5 representsa transverse, and Fig. 6 a longitudinal, section through the pile whenit is wound and ready to be heated, the latter figure showing the pluginserted which is to form the breech-pin of the gun. Fig. 7 is atransverse, and Fig. 8 a longitudinal, section through the same pileafter it has been reduced by rolling into a gun-block.

My invention consists in the making of a pile or fagot of wroiight-iron,or of steel and wrought-iron, by wrapping one or more sheets of iron orsteel around a hollow tube or solid bar of iron or steel until itbecomes of the diameter required, said tube or bar constituting a partand parcel of the pile or fagot when drawn down by rolling or hammering,and constitutes the part or portion out of which the bore of thefinished gun is formed.

I have been cognizant of the fact that various attempts have been madeto construct piles or fagots of wrought-iron for the purpose of rollingor hammering the same into masses, which, when finished, should have thefibers of the iron surrounding the axis of the pieceas in guns andcylinders for hydraulic pressesin which form the metal is subjected to agreat tangential strain; but while success has partially attended theseefforts, many Very important defects have manifested themselves inmethods heretofore practiced, which make it extremely difficult toattain soundness and uniformity in its 'finished state.

Experiments have been made of wrapping wire helically backward andforward around a central shaft, in which the desired strength wasreadily obtained to resist a force exerted centrifugally in a plane atright angles with the axis, but which, from want of ability to resistlongitudinal strains, failed to be of any practical utility.

Another mode has also been practiced, which consists in wrapping narrowbars of iron spirally around a series of longitudinal bars, each layerbreaking joints with that which preceded it in winding. Thus made, thepile, after being heated to a welding-heat, was passed between rollersand reduced' to a smaller diameter. From experience in making severalhundred gunsin this manner I have found thisplan very expensive andinseparable from serious defects. In piles thus made the rollers have anuncontrollabletendency to pull the bars forward and away from themandrel, causing the joints to open frequently as much as threeeighthsto a half inch apart, thus preventing the edges, from want of contact,to be welded together, and leaving deep channels from one end of thefinished pile to the other under each series of the surrounding barscomposing it for the deposit of cinder and dirt. The defects of thisplan are so great that scarcely one pile in three will finish soundlyenough for a gun-block, and certainly not one in a dozen for hydrauliccylinders. An attempt has been :made to rectify the evil of this plan byplacing longitudinal bars, like st-aves, around the coiled bars andbanding them; but, notwithstanding the adoption of this expedient, atleast forty per cent. finish t-oo imperfect to be used, and of theremainder scarcely one is entirely freefrom superficial or concealeddefects.

A pile or fagot of iron has also been made by winding sheets of ironaround a core or mandrel, and afterward withdrawing the core or mandrel;but when a gun is to be made and bored out from such a pile or block itis found that the lap will always be rough or cut to a n or featheredge, and cannot be made smooth. This unfits such a pile or fagot forthe making of guns, as the bore can never be perfect, while by my planno such difficulty is encountered, as the bore may be made in solidmetal.

Encountering these practical difficulties, and desiring to overcomethem, I have invented a process which, by actual experiment, I haveascertained effectually disposes ot' them, and by which I am able toobtain a sound and ho mogeneous nished article out of every pile.

To enable others skilled in Working iron to use my plan, I will proceedto describe it.

' I form a pile or fagot in a cylindrical shape, composed as follows:The center is a solid or hollow bar of iron or steel. It may bea Weldedtube, as shown in sections, Figs. l and 2 in the accompanying drawings,to which reference is to be had, or of two half-tubes, as in Fig. 3. Thecenter piece is made of any re quired length suitable to the purpose.Upon this tube or bar I fasten plates or sheets of iron, the Width ofwhich is the length ofthe desired pile. If the pile should be requiredto be so long that plates cannot be obtained of full Width, I use,instead of one, four plates arranged in widths so as to break joints, asshown in Fig. 4, where a of the bottom course and b of the top are ofthe same width, and, similarly, c ot' the bottom, and d of the topcourse, the plates d and b or a and c thus placed, respectively,determining the width of the wrapper. If desired, the edges of theplates a and c or d and b may be scarfed and riveted with countersunkrivets. I prefer to have the plates suiiicien tly long that each platemay make a pile, but if that be im practicable, two or more may bespliced together by scarng the edges of their ends and riveting them, orby fastening` them in any other suitable manner. If the plates to beused are thin, they may be Wrapped cold; but if thick, then I heat themin any suitable furnace warm enough to be readily bent, but not so hotas to raise a scale on the surface. When the plates require to beheated, they are not fastened upon the tube until drawn from the fire,as it is not necessary'to heat the tube for that purpose. The plate thusprepared and fastened to the center piece is readily Wrapped upon it byapplying sufficient power to the ends of the bar to make it revolve.This being accomplished, the pile is ready to be heated to aWelding-heat in the reverberatory furnace, whence it is taken to therolling-mill or hammer and drawn into cylinders, solid or hollow, to anyrequired size.

Fig. 5 shows a cross-section, and Fig. 6 a longitudinal verticalsection, of a pile prepared for linishing into a gun-block.

a is the hollow tube; b', the Wrapping-plate surrounding the tube a; c',the plug intended to be Welded into one end of the piie to form thebreech-pin ofthe gun. A

Figs. 7 and 8 are sections of the same pile after heilig reduced byrolling into a gun-block.

I do not claim the making of a pile or fagot by the Winding of sheet-sof iron in coils one upon the other, as this has been done; but

What I do claim in piles or fagots so made 1s- Ihe making of the bar onwhich the sheets are Wound and Welded o'suficient size to man vgin thebore of the gun when finished, sub-

